Category: 1.5 Commercial Open Source
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Single-Vendor Open Source at the Crossroads (Slides) #lfosls
I’ll be giving a presentation on single-vendor open source today at the Linux Foundation Open Source Leadership Summit 2019. Abstract: Most venture capital funding in open source flows to single-vendor open source firms. With the struggles over licensing in the cloud, these companies find themselves at the crossroads: Stay true to open source or move…
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My top three trends for open source in 2019 (2/3)
Trend #2 for 2019 in my book is making single-vendor open source, also known as the open core model a.k.a. neo-proprietary open source, work in the world of cloud computing. In this model, a software vendor goes to market using an intellectual property strategy that combines open sourcing of the product with an aggressive copyleft…
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Some argue that dual-licensing in commercial open source indicates a lack of ability to provide superior service
This is obviously wrong. The use of dual licensing and the ability to provide superior service for open source are unrelated forms of competitive advantage, and without further circumstances, a business should exploit both advantages. Let me explain. Dual (or multiple) licensing is a strategy, in which a company develops software, releases it under an…
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Commercial open source in the cloud
Update 2018-10-16: MongoDB is facing the same problem and decided to go closed source, see the press release. The brouhaha around Redis Labs taking some enterprise modules of its popular open source in-memory database Redis closed source has somewhat calmed down. However, I didn’t see any discussion of what I thought was the most interesting…
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The cardinal sin of commercial open source?
Redis is a popular open source database. Its proprietor, Redis Labs, recently announced that some add-on modules will not be open source any longer. The resulting outcry led to a defense and explanation of this decision that is telling. I have two comments and a lesson about product management of commercial open source. The two…
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Another take on explaining open source business models
Open source remains popular and I find myself explaining the economics of it to ever broader audiences. Rather than talking legalese or philosophy, I’ve been wondering about a pitch that focuses on the high-level strategic objective of the companies that are paying for open source. Here is a short summary; let me know if you…